Michael Joe Harvell

The Question!

The Question! Today, I had the staff go out for 15 minutes and think about this question: “What is one thing that God wants you to share with us about yourself that you don’t want to share with us?” I believe that there are a lot of things that we don’t want to share with others, but we need to share and God wants us to share!  Our sharing could create opportunity for healing and growth of our relationships and this brings blessing to us and glory to God!

The Enemy’s Plan! One of the greatest tools that the Devil has in his arsenal is the tool of breaking down communication!  If he can get us to stop talking, then he can get us to stop forgiving.  If he can get us to stop forgiving, then he can keep us from living in the forgiveness that God wants to give to us.  When we fail to live in the forgiveness that God has for us, it robs God of glory and the Devil is very happy about that!

Think about it today! Who do you need to share some things with, things that you don’t want to share, but you know God is telling you to share?  Make sure you are hearing from God and then move forward for your healing and growth and for God’s glory!

You Got Questions? He's Got Answers!

I Hear It All The Time! Being a pastor, this is one of the questions that I seem to get over and over and over again!  It seems to me that most people believe in God.  Most of the people who believe in God, believe that God has a plan and purpose for their life.  But most people have a really hard time figuring out what that plan is, so that they can live their lives accordingly.

What Does God Want Me To Do With My Life? Whenever I have a serious question, one of the first places that I go, is to the Word.  God has given us the Scriptures to guide, direct and grow our lives.  As we read the scriptures and begin to put into practice what they are teaching through obedient surrender, our lives almost automatically begin to live in the direction that God has mapped out for us.

Let’s Give It A Try: What does God want me to do with my life? “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy of offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Ask And Answer! What do these two verses tell us to do?  The first thing it tells us to do is to worship God!  “Offer you body as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship!” It does not say “go to worship”, it says:  ”Worship by offering your body as a living sacrifice – holy and pleasing to God!  Now we’ve got our work cut out for us.  Is there any question about what we need to be doing?

What And How? I don’t think there is a question about “What?”, but maybe about “How?”  The second part of the verse helps to answer this question: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Stop living according to the direction of the world and start living according to the direction of God’s Word.  I know it’s easier said than done, but if God in His Word has told us to do it, then it is possible and the best way to get started is to try!  Give it a shot.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step!

The Promise! This scripture tells us that when we get headed in this right direction:  “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will!” If you want to know what God wants you to do with your life, you have to start traveling in that direction.  Enjoy the journey!

How’s your life? Are you happy with where you are and where you are going? If you are not happy, then what can you do about it? If you are happy, then what can you do to appreciate your blessings and grow them to share with others?

The key to happiness is fulfillment! If you can figure out what it is that fulfills you and head toward that, then you will experience happiness, regardless of your life circumstances. God is real! God loves you and He has a plan for your life! His plan is to help you to live a fulfilled life!

You cannot live according to this amazing plan by accident. You have to make a decision that you are going to live your life on purpose, according to His purpose! When we figure this out and get this right, our life begins to travel along this amazing path that God has marked out for us. As we learn to listen to Him and as we yield to His ways, we begin to see, hear and experience things in a brand new and amazing way!

What do you need to do today to yield to God and His plan? What can you do? What will you do? Do it!

So What?

There are some things that I love to do and there are some things that I hate to do and there are some things that fall some where in between!  The things that I love to do are never a problem.  I get up, jump in and get it accomplished.  The things that I don’t like to do are some times a problem, but most of the time are not, because I just suck it up and get it done, because I know it has to be done.  The real challenge for me or those things that fall in between!

I don’t love it and I don’t hate it, I am just indifferent!  Indifference is a killer!  If I love something, then there is great potential for growth and a future.  If I hate something, then at least I know where I need to go to make progress.  But when I am indifferent, I just tend to sit there with no motion forward or backward and this is very dangerous.

The truth for many of us is that we have grown indifferent toward a lot of things and the result is that there is much in our lives that needs to be accomplished, but it can’t and it won’t because of our indifference.

Take a little time today to think about what or who you are indifferent about and then decide to do something about it – you will be glad you did!

I am a minister because this is what God has called and gifted me to do with my life! I am a minister because I love God and want in some way to try and express love back to Him through the service of my life lived for Him and His Kingdom! I am a minister because I love people and really do care about their living the incredible and amazing life that God has for them!

There are days that being a minister gets to be more than I can handle, but I get up the next day and can think of nothing else that I can do with my life that would satisfy or fulfill me. God calling me to serve as His minister is not optional for me! Even though there are brief moments where I might think about hanging up the ministerial robes, it is nothing more than a thought of the flesh passing through my life to try and cause me to miss out on the great blessing of a God. Remember: Some of God’s greatest blessing flows through challenge!

Loving God and loving people present me with plenty of challenges as I live my life in this world, but with every challenge comes a greater opportunity to be used by God for His glory and man’s blessing. You love God and you love people – how does God want to use this in your life to help you accomplish glory for Him and blessing for others? Think about it – you’ll be glad you did!

God wants to change your life! He really does want to change your life! And if you knew, could understand or come close to grasping the change that He has in store for you, then you would embrace the change and be amazingly excited about what your life is about and where your life is going!

Most of us do not like change, but we know that we need it and we often even want it, but are not willing to open our lives to change, because the change that comes might not be the change that we think we desire or want.

God wants to change your life and change it in an amazing way, but you have to have faith. We have to trust Him! If we’ll trust Him, then He can and will do amazing things! Open your heart, soul and mind to God. Trust Him – you’ll be glad you did!

Let The Water Flow!

It has been one of those crazy weeks, when everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.  I was going to cut my grass, but the tires were flat on the lawn mower.  I went to pump them up and discovered that the valve stem was bad.  I went to the store to buy a new valve stem and they were out.  I went to another store to buy a valve stem and they were out.  I finally found a valve stem, went home, changed it out, pumped up the tires and began to cut the grass.

As I was cutting grass, I noticed that I had a rather large mud puddle in my front yard.  What makes this really strange is that we have not had any decent rain amounts in since I don’t know when.  Upon closer examination, I discovered that when my house was built they ran the water lines right beside two big ole trees.  The roots of the trees had attacked the water supply line and the tree was enjoy the water that should have been going into my home for me and my family to enjoy.

What I thought was going to be a minor repair, ended up requiring that we replace the whole water line from the road to the house.  We got that taken care of and were looking forward to no more worries, until we cut the water on and after a few seconds of good flow, discovered that we had almost no flow!  It seems that when the line was replaced, some trash got in the line and caught in the pressure regulator which stopped up the flow.

All of this kind of junk is the kinda stuff that most of us will allow to stop us dead in our tracks.  We get frustrated, angry, discouraged, mad and despondent, when what we need to do is realize that this is life and that which does not kill us, will make us stronger!  Every step of the way, I kept reminding myself that God is in control and has a plan – a plan that I do not want to miss out on!

Being a Christian is not easy!  God never promised that it was going to be easy.  God promised that He would be with us and that He would never leave us or forsake us.  In fact, I have noticed that during the tough times of life, I get more dependent upon God and more open to whatever plan He has for my life.

So, the next time you have a problem, just remember this:  Your problem is God’s opportunity to prove Himself real and active in your life! Don’t have a bad attitude.  Have a good attitude, knowing that as you trust God through this tough time, He is going to grow you in an amazing way for His glory and everyone’s blessing!

Want Real Peace?

I used to think that peace was getting your life to a place where you did not have to face any storms, or at least it was a place where the storms were not that big. I have discovered that this is the world’s definition of peace and I had bought into it.

We work so hard to get our lives lined up in a “just so certain” way, because we have convinced ourselves that if we can get life to line up just right, then we will have peace – “the absence of conflict” according to the world. The truth is: It does not really matter how lined up I think I have my life, I am always going to be going into, in the middle of or coming out of a storm. Let’s face it – storms are a reality of life, they cannot be avoided and they don’t have to be a bad thing.

Peace is not the absence of the storm, but the presence of the Master. Peace is knowing that you do not face the storm alone and in your own strength. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in our time of need. (Psalms 46:1) Next time you find yourself in storm, don’t focus on the storm. Focus on the One Who is with you in the midst of the storm! Focus on the amazing reality that you have a Savior who loves you, Who you get to love back and you will discover a peace that cannot be understood or explained!

This month at Northwood we have been taking a look at Spiritual Warfare! Last week we looked at Angels and their ministry to us and around us. This week we took a look at the schemes of Satan and his Demons. When I finished sharing the message at the second service, one of our young people came up to me and asked: “So what do you think Angels and Demons are doing if they are in the same place at the same time?” We both agreed that they are not just sitting there looking at each other, but are most likely engaged in warfare. The thing that amazed him, was the realization that all of this can be going on all around us in the spiritual realm and we can be totally oblivious to it all here as we live our lives in the physical.

As Believers we need to remember that Spiritual Warfare is a very real thing! Just because you can’t see it with your physical eyes does not mean that it does not exist. It does exist and it is going on in your life, and even while you can’t always see it, you can feel it, if you are paying attention. The good news is that while the enemy is very active, so also is God and the forces of Heaven and we have the promise of the Word that the enemy has already been defeated.

Wake up to the reality that spiritual warfare is going on and you are often smack dab in the middle of it! Don’t be oblivious to the fact that God loves you, has an amazing plan for your life and intends for you to win over the enemy. When you and I win – God get’s glory! Look to Him, live for Him and love the life that he has blessed you with!